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Events

Apart from its regular seminars, the ISI hosts a number of related activities. We are delighted to invite eminent figures for our Annual Lecture, which supplements and corresponds to our seminar in any given year; sometimes this takes on other formats, such as a symposium or panel presentation. We also host other panels and presentations from time to time, and co-sponsor other events on campus. Details on current and past activities are below.

The Interdisciplinary Studies Institute (ISI) is pleased to co-sponsor the event 'Black Queer Born Frees in South Africa' at Smith College on February 4, 2014. Photographer and visual activist Zanele Muholi will show photographs and a video produced in Durban as part of a presentation exploring Black Frees (the generation born in post-apartheid South Africa and known as Mandela's great-grandchildren) and how each person expresses him/herself queerly in a time of troubling hate crimes in South Africa. The young adults she depicts are those born in 1990-1994, and openly gay/lesbian/trans with/in South African borders. This event will take place in the Browsing Room of Neilson Library on the Smith College campus on Tuesday, February 4 from 5-7pm.

The ISI is a proud cosponsor of the upcoming Theaster Gates visit to UMass. Gates will give a public lecture on November 4 titled "Du Bois: The Early Social Practitioner," at 5:00 PM Thompson 104 at UMass Amherst. His talk is part of the programming for the exhibition "Du Bois In Our Time" at the University Museum of Contemporary Art at UMass Amherst.

The artist Theaster Gates has developed an expanded practice that includes space development, object making, performance and critical engagement with many publics. Founder of the non-profit Rebuild Foundation, Gates is currently Director of Arts and Public Life at the University of Chicago.

The Interdisciplinary Studies Institute (ISI) is a proud sponsor of the upcoming "Du Bois in Our Time" Symposium and Exhibition at the University Museum of Contemporary Art at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Displaying artwork from internationally acclaimed artists from around the world, the exhibition aims to stimulate conversation about the legacy of W.E.B. Du Bois for modern times. The exhibition opens on September 10, 2013 and a series of education events will continue into the fall semester, free and open to the public.

The interdisciplinary symposium on September 28, 2013 brings together diverse panelists to discuss Du Bois in the twenty-first century and to put in artists and scholars in conversation with students and the community. This event is also free and open to the public, but registration is required.

The ISI is a proud sponsor of the "Why Guantanamo?" public memory project, whose exhibition opens on September 11 at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst campus. UMass is the first stop for this national touring exhibition, which depicts the history and continuing debate around the Guantanamo Bay prison and military base. The exhibition can be viewed in the Herter Art Gallery from 11:00-4:00, September 11- October 9.

On Wednesday, April 24th at 4 pm, the Interdisciplinary Studies Institute will host a panel discussion on 'The Challenges of Public Scholarship' featuring fellows from our current seminar, in Campus Center room 904-08. The event will highlight the work of our fellows, and allow the campus community to join in the conversation on a timely and significant topic. In many ways, we are all being challenged to consider our wider relevance to the communities and society around us, yet definitions of 'engagement' and 'relevance' may vary widely, not least across the disciplines as well as for those working in interdisciplinary environments. At the same time, those who wish to undertake public scholarship confront a variety of challenges, whether obtaining research funding, finding appropriate publication venues, or meeting tenure and promotion criteria. Our panelists will get the discussion going, but this will be an opportunity to have a wide-ranging, collaborative conversation.

Following the Capstone Event, join us at the Faculty Club at 6 pm for drinks and appetizers as we celebrate the first year anniversary of ISI!